Like this:

Quite a number of straight guys visit Enlightened Male, not just because of the gorgeous females that are often featured here. They click through a good many pages, regularly leave comments, and sometimes send pictures of their penises (or more) to be posted on the Drop Your Pants page, knowing gay and bisexual guys will enjoy looking at them.

They’re here to look at the men. But does that mean they’re gay or bisexual? Of course not. It’s nothing more than human nature to be curious about what other men look like, to compare your body and your penis to other guys. It’s perfectly natural to appreciate the beauty of other men, on the Internet, in the gym showers, at athletic events or the ballet. It’s perfectly natural to enjoy getting naked with other guys at a secluded swimming hole or on a camping trip. It’s even natural to fantasize what it would be like to be intimate with another man. None of these things mean you aren’t straight.

We have museums removing nude statues at parent’s request. They believe their children will be psychologically damaged if they saw a penis. You remember the uproar during a halftime performance when one of Janet Jackson’s breasts made a brief appearance. Can you imagine what would have happened had that been a male performer’s private part? Little wonder boys are growing up thinking there is something immoral about the male body.

So it’s the social stigmas that prevent men from openly appreciating other male bodies. We’re indoctrinated from day one to shun nudity and same gender notions of any kind, by our parents, our acquaintances, by the church, and by our learned perceptions of what’s masculine and what’s not. Everyone’s heard guys say something like, “Why would I want to look at a naked man.” That same guy is probably here or on another site looking at them right now.

I’ll never understand how or why mankind has gone backwards since the days of ancient Greece or Rome, when the male body was considered a thing of beauty. Along the way, contrary to our natural human instincts and perceptions, religious autocrats have written the moral codes so many live by today. They made the human body immoral and shameful, something we should hide instead of celebrate; along with homosexuality and things like premarital sex. (Can you imagine marrying someone you don’t know you are sexually compatible with?) It has gotten so bad many people find it difficult, if not impossible to talk about these things, even teach their children about sex.

During the sixties, I thought we had freed ourselves of all that macho baggage and those misguided mores of days gone by. What happened? Body acceptance is in worst shape than in the fifties. Many men are covering themselves with towels in gym locker rooms; they’re certainly not openly admiring other men. You have to wonder what went wrong that caused us to resist the natural impulse to look at other men, and be pleasantly mindful they are looking at us.

On the other hand, a good many straight guys are freeing themselves of these ridiculous shackles. Look at the growing popularity of The World Naked Bike Ride and organized events like nude yoga classes, and the vastly popular websites that feature nude men. Many of the guys that enjoy these things are straight. The men, gay, straight or otherwise, that have gotten past the misguided rules are like small bright flames in a world of darkness, a flicker of light in a dark tunnel that will never die. They are examples of how things could be better. Let’s hope their numbers grow with future generations.

Like this:

I hope you’re having as much fun with this series as I am. The human anus. It’s one of the few things the whole of mankind has in common. Anuses play an important role in our daily lives. They have an aura of mystery, presenting themselves only on the rarest of occasions, lest you’re a nudist, and then still only rarely. Without the use of soap and water, they make their presence known, demanding your attention if you want yours to get some attention from someone else. As perhaps the most intimate part of our bodies, they reside between our legs with some pretty interesting neighbors.

I find it fascinating that there are those among us who happily bend over and spread their cheeks as those have in these photos, in effect asking “What’s the fuss all about?” Who knows why we’ve become so hush-hush about this part of our body. Who knows why anuses are considered unsightly, or naughty, or off limits. The graceful lines of a pair of legs, the delicate beauty of female breasts, the inspiring strength of muscular male shoulders are all parts of our bodies generally considered beautiful. Not so the anus. But no one can deny the anus is compelling.

It wouldn’t occur to some people to stick their finger in someone’s anus, or even their own. It’s a subject in which they allow themselves no permissible thoughts. But for those wanting a more adventurous life, sticking a finger in their partner’s anus is a remarkably intimate and satisfying experience. Inside you can feel the warm slippery rectal walls. You’ll feel anus’s reflexes when it tightens on your finger. In the process, you are most likely getting wholly turned on, not to mention what your finger is doing for your partner. And no, it doesn’t matter if the giver or receiver is a man or a woman. But if it’s a man’s anus your finger is in, you can angle toward his pubic area and feel his prostate gland, and then give it a gentle finger massage.

Another fascinating thing about anuses are their variations from one person to the next, everything from nondescript, hardly noticeable slits or punctures, to dramatic colors, fissures and creases. Colors lend personality, pinks, or reds or browns. And depending on a person’s gluteal architecture, some of them are well hidden within in a deep crack. To expose them the cheeks have to be pried apart, while others are saying hello to the world if the person simply leans forward. Then there are all the little bumps, the tiny creases and swirls to contemplate, like fingerprints … everyone’s is a bit different.

But the anus has an even more characteristic element in its personal cache, its own unique smell, in comparison to our other natural body smells. Blindfolded, you may be able to distinguish a male or a female with a sniff, but probably not, unless it belongs to a woman whose vaginal musk has invaded the territory. Right out of the shower, your anus will smell like soap. Go for a thirty minute jog and it’s a different story. Since the skin is pressed together between your cheeks, your crack will be damp or sweaty. Subtle odors from bacteria will have formed. Bitters from inside your rectum will have seeped out to join the mix, all of which produces a distinct fragrance that speaks to our body chemistry.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Basically you’re still clean. It’s just that your natural body smells have overwhelmed the smell of soap. So how does all of that speak to your body chemistry? Two ways; one is called pheromones, our natural aphrodisia. The other is because of the way our brains are wired. A whiff, maybe two … men will get erections and women will get wet. The ship’s log of odors that collect in our crack send a clear message to the brain … sex. Everything in your body starts preparing for it, even your mood.

Of course sniffing someone’s anus isn’t required to get in the mood for sex; you can be Continue reading →

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Erotic Tales by Martin Brant

MALE SEXUALITY

What does male sexuality have to do with Martin Brant Novels?

Within the general brotherhood of man, concerning male sexuality, a significant percentage of men live with a closely guarded secret. More common than most people think, these men are dealing a same sex attraction. Most people, other than those they may have shared their secret with, don’t realize how many men have some degree of sexual attraction to other men. Contrary to most moral codes and various religious beliefs, these feelings are quite common and natural. They are feelings that number among the human emotions I deal with through the characters in my novels.

A writer’s first priority, mine included, is to tell a good story. Any writer worth his or her salt wants to create a thoughtfully written story and entertain those who read his or her work. It could be a murder mystery like my latest novel, Copperas Cove, where Jonathon Scott, recently divorced, leaves Pittsburgh to start a new life and finds himself entangled in the bigoted dramas of 1950s Mississippi; or a WWII action/adventure like The Partisans, where two men on an important mission in France stumble upon a bright new future; or a tale of romance like A Song in the Park, where two men at odds with their past cross paths and start facing life’s challenges together. Good stories have characters and characters have personalities, personalities that are very much a part of the whole and make for a more intriguing book. Often the character’s personality can be a story within a story, or it can be the story itself, as in books such as Catcher in the Rye, or my first novel Five Married Men.

Why the element of same sex attraction?

For me it’s a fascination with the vast diversity of human nature. It’s a part of the human race that, for various reasons, many don’t understand. Many of us have been indoctrinated to belief there is something wrong with being attracted to a member of our own sex, which includes the majority of those who are. These are the men who keep secrets, who often feel guilty, who somehow believe there is something wrong with them. Though you may not feel attracted to members of your own sex, you know someone who does. It may be your brother or sister, your neighbor or a colleague at work, your cousin or best friend; it may even be your husband or wife. And chances are you don’t know their secret exists.

Considered a blessing or a curse, or both, the degree of same sex attraction varies from one man to the next; from a mild curiosity that leaves him feeling either guilty or warm inside, to a full blown and exclusive attraction to one’s own sex. Though the same holds true for both men and women, my focus and my novels are about men (and the women in their lives). And for some reason, same sex attractions seem more prevalent in men, though it is also considered by many as more unnatural and less acceptable.

So why would an author that wants to write a compelling mainstream tale include characters with a same sex attraction? Maybe I believe human sexuality in itself is compelling. Maybe, through my novels, I would like to help broaden human understanding. Maybe a part of me wants to say it’s okay.